Madagascar death toll rises after cyclone

By BBC

At least 38 people are now known to have died when Cyclone Enawo struck Madagascar this week.

Another 180 people were injured and 53,000 displaced when the cyclone hit the country’s north-east on Tuesday.

Officials revised the death toll and number of injured on Friday, having originally reported that just four people had lost their lives.

Enawo diminished in strength after making landfall, and has been downgraded to a tropical depression.

But not before the cyclone destroyed roads and cut off communications to the north-eastern Antalaha district.

It dumped 12 inches of rain across the region in 12 hours on Tuesday, with winds reaching up to 300km/h (185mph).

Speaking on Friday, Thierry Venty, executive secretary of the National Bureau of Risk and Disaster Management, said: “The damage is enormous wherever the cyclone has gone.”